Balanced Calendar Argument
It’s no secret that students need a break. They need time to recharge and process the information they learned. As a student myself I know I look forward to winter and summer break the most because they are the longest. I even find myself wishing they could be longer. But at what cost? The Yakima School Board is pushing for a new calendar of the school year. They want to shorten summer break and add those days to winter, fall, and spring break. The School Board believes the year Covid-19 took from us has caused students to fall behind, and aren’t on track to graduate. Many mixed feelings on this new calendar were discussed at the Board Meeting on the 7th of February.
There are 3 calendars being proposed. The current calendar, 0 days of fall break, 10 days of winter break, 5 days of spring break, and 11 weeks of summer break. This is the calendar all of the Yakima School District students and parents are accustomed to, the calendar they set their schedules around. The Balanced calendar 45/15, 15 days of fall break, 15 days of winter break, 15 days of spring break, and 5 weeks of summer break. The 45/15 calendar would allow students to have the breaks they desperately need. They wouldn’t have to wish for a longer break because they know one longer than 5 days is around the corner. They would stress less knowing they have the time to catch up on work, and to rest and retain the information they learned. The last calendar up for debate is The Balanced Calendar 45/10. This means there would be 10 days of fall break, 15 days of winter break, 10 days of spring break, and 7-8 weeks of summer break. This option gives students both enough time away from school, but also plenty of time to focus on school without being burnt out. The 7-8 weeks of summer is closer to the normal summer break we have, but also, students would get the additional days off during different breaks.
All 3 options were shared at the Board Meeting on the 7th, and all the main concerns were shared. The biggest being k-5 kids not learning basic math, reading, or comprehension skills, because of the large gap time they were not in school. Older students needing to take care of their younger siblings but not being able to with a shortened summer. Both Balanced Calendars puting staff priorities before the students' education and personal needs. And finally, the possibility students won’t be happy with these new calendar changes.
The Student Voice Council members, Luanna Huang, Decari Lewis, Sydney Hager, Valeria Garza, and Conor Lincon want a real representation on students’ opinions. As student representatives their main concern is that students are not getting a say in what happens to their future education. They took matters into their own hands and brought statistics and surveys taken by students expressing their viewpoint. They shared multiple interactive posts and forms to students with a breakdown of the modified calendar. After 24 hours of voting the studies show there was a 50/50 split between those for and opposed, a shortened summer break. 70 students overall had taken these polls but the Student Voice Council wants more feedback from the students. Afterall, there are nearly 16,000 students who will be affected by this schedule change, 70 is not enough.
The School Board Committee says they have the students best interest in mind, and these break changes are because students fall behind during long vocational periods. They also said “A balanced/modified calendar has the potential to improve and equalize academic achievement.” However, with the shared statistics from the Student Voice Council the YSD School Board Committee has decided there is more to discuss about the change in school scheduling. They realized it is too soon to accept any of the balanced calendars and that there are many more areas of concern to discuss. With this extra time the Student Voice Counsel would like for more calculated statistics from the district. Whether that be through observation of students at school or through student/teacher contribution. They ask for you to take a small amount of time out of your day to complete any future surveys about these new proposed calendars. Take part in your future students, staff, and parents!
